FEBRUARY 2015

THE MONTH of February began with a Sunday evening clash with Gillingham at Banks's Stadium.

It was The Gills who took the lead with just over 20 minutes to go before Ashley Grimes came off the bench to score his first goal for the club and level matters and that's how the scoreline stayed.

A trip to Doncaster Rovers followed and it didn't take The Saddlers long to get our noses in front when Jordan Cook found the net from a tight angle in the third minute.

We continued to look a threat throughout the game and sealed the points with 20 minutes to go when Jordy Hiwula, who joined the club on loan from Manchester City, came on to notch a debut goal.

It was a deserved victory and we started our next game, a home clash with Rochdale, in scintilating form as we raced into a three-goal lead within the opening 22 minutes as James O'Connor scored his first goal for the club to open the scoring before Anthony Forde and then Jordy Hiwula on his first start gave us a commanding and richly-deserved lead.

Credit to our visitors as they changed things around and it almost paid off for them as they pulled two goals back and caused problems, but we managed to hold on to claim our second victory in a row.

Another home game followed, this time against Staffordshire rivals, Port Vale. It was a frustrating afternoon for Dean Smith's side as we found our visitors in stubborn mood and they took home all three points courtesy of a first half goal from Tom Pope.

A trip to in-form Bradford City was next on the agenda and on a difficult surface, Walsall had to dig in and work extremely hard to bring home a share of the spoils.

The Bantams grabbed the lead early in the second period following a decidedly-even first half. But we failed to let our heads drop and that man Hiwula headed home his third goal for the club as he got on the end of an inviting Jordan Cook cross.

Our fourth encounter of the season with Preston North End followed and after two previous wins and a draw, we went down to a 1-0 defeat on this occasion.

In the end it was a controversial goal that won it as Rico Henry appeared to be fouled in the build-up and had to go straight to hospital with a dislocated shoulder.

The referee allowed play to continue and the home side took full advantage with the youngster lying prone on the floor.

Despite coming into the game more after the break, we were unable to find an equaliser as we went down to a 1-0 reverse.

The month ended with a return to home side but it was a disappointing day as we succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient in a game where we never got going.